Rahul Dravid surprised one and all with his decision to play five pacers against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the move paid rich dividends for Rajasthan Royals (RR) as they defeated KKR by 19 runs in their second match of the Indian Premier League at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on Monday.

Here we bring before you the heroes and zeroes from the match.

HITS

Brett Lee: Lee was again at his very best and with his accurate line and length; he kept troubling the batsmen. He brought his experience in use and bowled some beauties to surprise the batsmen. He ended up picking one wicket and gave away just 20 runs in his four overs.

Ajinkya Rahane: Rahane scored 37 runs and was brilliant on field. His ability to mould his innings makes him an important player for Rajasthan. Rahane was looking to play the ball at its merit. Playing with Rahul Dravid has made him look different all together and we might see a different Rahane by the end of this IPL.

Brad Hodge: Hodge 's innings of 46 runs was instrumental in setting up a tough target of 143 runs on the board. His ability to get those odd boundaries makes him a very special player. At the age of 38, he still looks very agile and if he continues firing like this then it’s going to be difficult for other teams to stop Rajasthan Royals this season.

Siddharth Trivedi: Trivedi bowled brilliantly in his very first over and got rid of two most important batsmen of T20 cricket. He trapped Manoj Tiwary in front of the middle stump and got Gautam Gambhir out too. He ended up picking three wickets for just 23 runs.

Kevon Cooper: Kevon cooper didn’t have a good time with the bat as he was dismissed for a naught, but he made sure that he would compensate with his bowling. He got Yusuf Pathan out in his first over. He picked up the wickets of Eoin Morgan and Rahul Shukla in his final over and ended up with the impressive figures of 3/15.

Eoin Morgan: Eoin Morgan played exceedingly well and single-handedly pulled his team back into the contest. His knock of 51 runs was a special treat for the KKR fans who were disappointed with the poor show of their top-order batsmen. He scored three fours and three sixes in his pivotal innings.

FLOPS

Shami Ahmed: Shami Ahmed started off well but Gambhir’s poor decision made him go for plenty in his next two overs. He gave just five runs in his first over and was removed from the attack. Had that rhythm not been broken, he would have done much better. He got smacked for couple of boundaries in his second and third over to end with a stats of 0/26.

Jacques Kallis: Kallis got out on a very first ball and again put up a bad show. In bowling, he was looking rusty as he gave away seven runs in his every over and didn’t maintain the pressure on the middle order of Rajasthan. He ended giving away 28 runs and was wicket-less.

Manvinder Bisla: Bisla again looked uncomfortable against the pacers. The way he was approaching Shaun Tait creates a certain element of doubt whether he has faced any good pacer before. His feet were not moving and very soon Rahul Shukla got him out. He got out for just one run.

Yusuf Pathan: Pathan didn’t have much to contribute in last match and this time he didn’t bat like he was there to make any contribution to KKR’s total. He got out for duck after playing just two deliveries.

Shane Watson: Watson's return had created a lot of hype and was expected to do something magical but he failed to make any impact. He got out after scoring five runs before he was dismissed by Brett Lee.

By Amit Chopra
Indian Sports News Network